//------------------------------//
// 14. An Unbearable Truth 
// Story: One year 
// by PonyFromSpace 
//------------------------------//

14. An Unbearable Truth

Apart from the raging storm outside, the room was silent. Stride leaned against the wall. He was breathing fine. The white filly sitting by the window stared at the roaring sky. They didn't speak a word. Stride felt he had to go after Scootaloo, but it was too dangerous. The wind could sweep him away. Luckily, Apple Bloom was already on the case. His gaze shifted to the door. He hoped they'd be back soon.

"How long do you have?" his friend at the window suddenly asked without turning her head.
"Until somewhere around the end of summer." 

She looked down and started patting the floor with her right front hoof. Stride felt more and more uncomfortable. He really should've said it more subtly. He felt stupid for being so blunt about such a delicate situation. On the other hoof, what choice did he have? No, he didn't feel stupid for saying it. He felt stupid for holding it back for so long. The mare turned her head.

"How long have you known?" 
"About a month before we met. I've been ill ever since my birth, but until then there was hope." "There's always hope."

Stride shook his head. He knew what was about to come. She was going to try and think of dozens of ways to save him. None of them would work, let alone make sense. Ponies always did that. Even though he hadn't even told her exactly what the problem was, she was going to try.

"Maybe we could ask Twilight for help," she said.
Stride sighed and leaned back against the planks.
"That won't work."

He watched sadly how her breathing sped up, fighting the idea of losing a friend. Fighting the idea of being powerless. Stride liked to think she had no reason to truly care, but he'd seen how she was around him. She was a friend, so there was no use in telling himself she wouldn't mind losing him.

"Then maybe princess Celestia?"
"That won't work either."

She turned her entire body. She looked angry, "How are you so sure of that! Have you asked her?!"
Her chest was beating. Her otherwise always puffy mane was losing its texture in her rage.
"You can't just give up like that! Don't do that to us!"
Now, it was Stride who was starting to boil inside.

"Don't do that to you?! Do you have any idea how much it does to me? How much this means to me? I'm the one who's never going to grow up! I'm the one who'll never get married, never have a family! I'm the one who'll never get a job, who'll never achieve ANYTHING in his life!"

He realised he was making himself large. His back hurt, probably because he was supposedly spreading his wings now. Sweetie Belle shrunk down a bit, her earlier anger had stepped aside for fear and sadness. She wasn't crying though. Stride remembered mom had cried. Storm had never really stopped crying. Secret moments, in the bathroom, in the kitchen... Stride had noticed. 

He felt bad now for yelling at Sweetie Belle. He felt bad for leaving everypony in the dark for so long. He stood back like his usual self. 
A somewhat reserved posture.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that," he apologised. 
The mare nodded silently, seemingly collecting her thoughts. That silence retook its hold of the room. It didn't let go.





"Scootalooo!" Apple Bloom shouted. The wind dragged her voice away. Her bow was torn to shreds and she had trouble keeping balance. Apple Bloom was stronger and heavier than Scootaloo. Worry seeped in. What if the weather had smashed her into a tree? Scootaloo could've easily been taken by surprise by this wind. She gazed around, looking for any signs of the orange filly, but other than the road she had nothing to go on. She decided to resume her path to Ponyville. Perhaps she'd find Scootaloo somewhere along the way. The grassy fields were tired down under the strain of autumn. The apple trees were troubled by the extreme weather and Apple Bloom was starting to worry they'd snap. She stopped in her tracks. Did she hear voices? Sounds could only come from one direction with weather like this, so the voices must've come from wherever the wind came from. She searched the grass for its owners and thankfully recognised the raspy voice of Rainbow Dash.

"I told you not to go so high today!" the mare exclaimed, "Now see what you've done. Don't say I didn't warn you."
A groaning stallion replied and Apple Bloom quickly realised it was Thunderlane. The cerulean pegasus mare came out of the grass, carrying a sweaty and tiresome weather pony.
"My wing hurts."
"You've said that already. Now stop being such a wus over it."

Rainbow noticed the filly standing in the road, "Hey, Apple Bloom. Can you help me bring Thunderlane to Sweet Apple Acres? I don't think he'll make it all the way back to town without whining."
"Ah'd love to, Rainbow Dash, but Scootaloo's somewhere out in this storm and Ah need to find her."
Rainbow dropped her colleague with an ungraceful thud.
"How about you bring baby boy over here to Applejack and I search for Scootaloo?" Rainbow said, her voice implying it wasn't a matter of choice. Apple Bloom picked up the moaning stallion and held him up with her shoulder. Rainbow Dash quickly zapped away low to the ground, zigzagging as the wind tried to get a hold on her.

She dropping off the piteous pegasus at home. Granny Smith immediately got him a bandage for his wing and his hind leg. Apple Bloom galloped back to the clubhouse, hoping Rainbow Dash had found Scootaloo and dropped her off there. Alas, she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was received with the depressing sight of two sad fellow crusaders, not speaking a word. She slammed the door shut and took off her shredded bow. She placed it on the little desk and turned back to Stride. She had a really important question to ask him.

"Stride, why di-"
She was interrupted by Sweetie Belle, who held her shoulder.
"Let me tell. Please."

It went about as well as one could expect. At first the earth pony thought it was a bad joke and yelled at them for making fun of death. She had lost her parents and wasn't unacquainted with it. Then, she asked for details. What was going on? She grew more and more bothered with the fact he had kept it silent and didn't shy back to say so. She accidently threw him into a fit of tears. After trying to console him, she tried to think of numerous ways to help. Maybe Twilight knew something? Or Celestia? All was in vain.





The wind was lessening in power and Storm saw her last shot at having some fun with the weather. She flew through the air and made loop-de-loops where most pegasi would be thrown away like paper props. Storms were her favourite. She giggled at the empty streets, flying slowly past Sugar Cube Corner. She saw a few ponies were stranded inside, watching her in confusion. Suddenly, somepony grabbed her tail and pulled her down. It was Rainbow Dash, that cerulean pony. She had a troubled expression.

"You shouldn't fly so hard in a storm like this," Rainbow said, "You could get swept away."
Storm shrugged and smiled, "I already got swept away. I should probably be home making dinner."
She flew up and did a pirouette, "But this is too much fun."
Rainbow Dash snickered, "Well, I can't say extreme weather like this doesn't get awesome..."
The mare scanned the streets, "Have you seen Scootaloo anywhere? Apple Bloom said she ran out."
Storm lowered herself to the ground, "A filly that weight would be tossed around so quickly! We have no time to lose. Where was she last seen?"